Latest issue

by Paul Taylor, Lakes Weekly Bulletin

I can remember being a little shocked a few years ago when a friend, whose son is a promising skier, told me she just takes him out of primary school three days a week in winter to go up the mountains. “What does the school say about that?”, I asked. “Nothing. What are they going to say?” she replied.

Somewhat surprisingly, considering all the snow days our kids take, not to mention the long holidays in Europe and elsewhere, Queenstown Lakes has the sixth best school attendance figures of all the territorial authorities in New Zealand, according to the latest stats. Some 56.2% of kids were in school for more than 90% of the time in the 2023 academic year, compared to a national average of just 46%.

PM Christopher Luxon says that national figure is “shameful” and, with coalition buddy, David Seymour, Associate Education Minister, is talking about introducing fines and even prosecution for parents whose kids are deemed to be ‘truants’. The UK introduced a similar system a few years ago. You get a fixed fine of £160, which is around $NZ320, every time your child is absent for 10 sessions (five days) per term, and if it continues, the police are called in.

It will work a little differently in NZ, but I still think it’s a terrible idea. While much of the focus has been on families who will take their kids out of school because they “want get a cheaper airfare to Fiji in the last week of term”, as Seymour says, that’s not really a problem is it? Let’s face it, if you can afford to take your kids to Fiji, or skiing, your child will probably have a decent start in life. They’ll have good support, and the odd week off isn’t going to have a major impact. It feels quite Kiwi in a way - spirit of individual freedom and you make your own rules. And while $320 is a bit of a stinger - you will probably save that in air fares from Air New Zealand (Luxon used to be the CEO of that company, but only mentions it once or twice a conversation).

Then, for the kids who are absent for more complex reasons, be it a chaotic family life which does not provide support, or behavioural issues, or the disadvantages of an upbringing affected by poverty, or parents with substance abuse problems, or other social pitfalls, how does fining and potentially prosecuting the parents help? It is only going to add stress, conflict, stigma and a financial burden to families who are already struggling in some way.

To be fair to Luxon and Seymour, there will be some families in the middle that this helps, and they did mention ‘wraparound support’ in the announcement. But it will likely do more harm than good. And I thought Seymour promised us small Government and less red tape?!